Connect to a remote server

Applies to:

A remote server (often referred to as the web server) is where you publish your site files so that people can view them online. The remote server is simply another computer like your local computer with a collection of files and folders on it. For example, an FTP server or a WebDav server.

You’ll specify a folder for your site on the remote server, just as you specified a folder for your local site on your local computer. Dreamweaver refers to the specified remote folder as your remote site.

When you set up a remote folder, you must select a connection method for Dreamweaver to upload and download files to and from your web server. The most typical connection method is FTP, but Dreamweaver also supports local/network, FTPS, SFTP, WebDav, and RDS connection methods. If you don’t know which connection method to use, ask your ISP or your server administrator.

Specify a connection method

FTP connections

Note: Business Catalyst supports only SFTP. If you are using Business Catalyst, see the section on SFTP connections on this page.

Select
Site > Manage Sites.

Click New to set up a new site, or select an existing Dreamweaver site and click the edit icon.

In the Site Setup dialog box, select the Servers category
and do one of the following:

Click the Add New Server button to add a new server

Select an existing server and click the Edit Existing Server
button

The following illustration shows the Basic
screen of the Server category with the text fields already populated.

Basic screen of the Server category, Site Setup dialog box.

In the Server Name text box, specify a name for the new server. You can choose any name that you require.

Select FTP from the Connect Using pop-up menu.

In the FTP Address text box, enter the address of the
FTP server to which you upload files for your website.

Your FTP address is the full Internet name of a computer
system, such as ftp.mindspring.com. Enter the full address without
any additional text. In particular, don’t add a protocol name in
front of the address.

If you do not know your FTP address,
contact your web hosting company.

Note:

Port 21 is the default
port for receiving FTP connections. You can change the default port
number by editing the text box to the right. The result when you
save your settings is a colon and the new port number appended to
your FTP address (for example, ftp.mindspring.com:29).

In the Username and Password text boxes, enter the username
and password that you use to connect to the FTP server.

Click Test to test your FTP address, username, and password.

Note:

You must obtain the FTP address, username and password
information from the system administrator for the company hosting
your site. No one else has access to this information. Enter the
information exactly as your system administrator gives it to you.

Dreamweaver saves your password
by default. Deselect the Save option if you prefer that Dreamweaver prompt you for a password each
time you connect to the remote server.

In the Root Directory text box, enter the directory (folder)
on the remote server where you store documents that are visible
to the public.

If you’re uncertain about what to enter as the root directory,
contact the server’s administrator or leave the text box blank.
On some servers, your root directory is the same as the directory
you first connect to with FTP. To find out, connect to the server.
If a folder with a name like public_html, or www, or your user name, appears
in the Remote File view in your Files panel, that’s probably the
directory you should enter in the Root Directory text box.

In the Web URL text box enter the URL of your website
(for example, http://www.mysite.com). Dreamweaver uses the Web URL
to create site root-relative links, and to verify links when you
use the link checker.

Expand the More Options section if you still need to
set more options.

Select Use Passive FTP if your
firewall configuration requires use of passive FTP.

Passive
FTP enables your local software to set up the FTP connection rather
than requesting the remote server to set it up. If you’re not sure
whether you use passive FTP, check with your system administrator,
or try both checking and unchecking the Use Passive FTP option.

Select Use IPv6 Transfer Mode if you are using an IPv6-enabled
FTP server.

With the deployment of version 6 of the Internet Protocol
(IPv6), EPRT and EPSV have replaced the FTP commands PORT and PASV,
respectively. Thus, if you are trying to connect to an IPv6-enabled
FTP server, you must use the extended passive (EPSV) and the extended
active (EPRT) commands for your data connection.

Scenario 1

You do not have a key and want to establish an SFTP connection using only the credentials - combination of user name and password. In this case, use the “Username and Password” authentication method.

Site setup with SFTP connection - user name and password

Enter a friendly name for the server.

From the Connect list, click SFTP, and enter a valid SFTP address and port.

For the authentication method, click Username and Password, and then provide the user name and password.

To verify the connection, click Test.

Enter a valid Root Directory.

Enter a valid Web URL.

Click Save.

Scenario 2

You have a key that does not require a passphrase. And, you want to establish an SFTP connection using the combination of user name and Identity File. In this case, use the “Private Key File” authentication method.

Site setup with SFTP connection - Identity File

Enter a friendly name for the server.

From the Connect list, click SFTP, and enter a valid SFTP address and port.

For the authentication method, click Private Key File, and then provide the following:

User name

A valid Identity File

Leave the Passphrase blank and select Save Passphrase

Note:

Dreamweaver supports only OpenSSH key files.

To verify the connection, click Test.

Enter a valid Root Directory.

Enter a valid Web URL.

Click Save.

Scenario 3

You have a key that requires a passphrase. And, you want to establish an SFTP connection using the combination of user name, Identity File, and the Passphrase for the key. In this case, use the “Private Key File” authentication method.

Site setup with SFTP connection - Identity File and passphrase

Enter a friendly name for the server.

From the Connect list, click SFTP, and enter a valid SFTP address and port.

For the authentication method, click Private Key File, and then provide the following:

User name

A valid Identity File

Passphrase for the Identity File

Note:

Dreamweaver supports only OpenSSH key files.

To verify the connection, click Test.

Enter a valid Root Directory.

Enter a valid Web URL.

Click Save.

Note:

Port
22 is the default port for receiving SFTP connections.

The rest of the options are the same as the options for
FTP connections. See the above section for more information.

FTPS connections

FTPS (FTP over SSL) provides both encryption and authentication
support as compared to SFTP that offers only encryption support.

When using FTPS for data transfer, you can choose to encrypt
your credentials, and also the data being transmitted to the server.
In addition, you can choose to authenticate the server's credentials
and connections. The credentials of a server are validated against
the current set of trusted CA server certificates in the Dreamweaver
database. Certificate Authorities (CAs), which include companies like
VeriSign, Thawte, and so on, issue digitally signed server certificates

Note:

This procedure describes options specific to FTPS. For information
on regular FTP options, see the previous section.

Select Site > Manage Sites.

Click New to set up a new site, or select an existing Dreamweaver site and click Edit.

In the Site Setup dialog box, select the Servers category
and do one of the following:

Click the “+” (Add New
Server) button to add a new server.

Select an existing server and click the Edit Existing Server
button.

In Server Name, specify a name for the new server.

In Connect Using, select one of the following based on your
requirement.

FTP over SSL/TLS (Implicit Encryption)

The server terminates the connection if the security request
is not received.

FTP over SSL/TLS (Explicit Encryption)

If the client does not request security, the server can choose
to proceed with an insecure transaction, or refuse/limit the connection.

In Authentication, choose one of the following options:

None

The server’s credentials, signed or self-signed, are displayed. If you accept the server’s credentials, the certificate is added to a certificate store, trustedSites.db, in Dreamweaver. When you connect to the same server the next time, Dreamweaver directly connects to the server.

Note: If the credentials of a self-signed certificate have changed on the server, you are prompted to accept the new credentials.

Trusted

The presented certificate is validated with the current set of trusted CA server certificates in the Dreamweaver database. The list of trusted servers is stored in the cacerts.pem file.

Note: An error message is displayed if you select Trusted Server, and connect to a server with a self-signed certificate.

Expand the More Options section to set more options.

Encrypt Only Command Channel

Select this option if you want to encrypt only the commands
that are being transmitted. Use this option when the data being
transmitted is already encrypted, or does not contain sensitive
information.

Encrypt Only User Name and Password

Select this option if you want to encrypt only your user
name and password.

Click Save to close the Basic screen. Then in the Servers
category, specify whether the server you added or edited is a remote
server, a testing server, or both.

For help with troubleshooting FTP connectivity problems, see
TechNote kb405912 on the Adobe website at www.adobe.com/go/kb405912.

Local or network connections

Use this setting to connect to a network folder,
or if you are storing files or running your testing server on your
local computer.

Select
Site > Manage Sites.

Click New to set up a new site, or select an existing Dreamweaver site and click Edit.

In the Site Setup dialog box, select the Servers category
and do one of the following:

Click the Add New Server button to add a new server

Select an existing server and click the Edit Existing Server
button

In the Server Name text box, specify a name for the new
server. The name can be anything of your choosing.

Select Local/Network from the Connect Using pop-up menu.

Click the folder icon beside the Server Folder text box
to browse to and select the folder where you store your site files.

In the Web URL text box enter the URL of your website
(for example, http://www.mysite.com). Dreamweaver uses the Web URL
to create site root-relative links, and to verify links when you
use the link checker.

Click Save to close the Basic screen. Then in the Servers
category, specify whether the server you just added or edited is
a remote server, a testing server, or both.

WebDAV connections

Use this setting if you connect to your web server using the Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) protocol.

For this connection method, you must have a server that supports this protocol, such as Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) 5.0 or an appropriately configured installation of Apache web server.

Note: If you select WebDAV as your connection method, and you are using Dreamweaver in a multiuser environment, you should also make sure that all of your users select WebDAV as the connection method. If some users select WebDAV, and other users select other connection methods (FTP, for example), Dreamweaver’s check-in/check-out feature will not work as expected, since WebDAV uses its own locking system.

Select
Site > Manage Sites.

Click New to set up a new site, or select an existing Dreamweaver site and click Edit.

In the Site Setup dialog box, select the Servers category
and do one of the following:

Click the Add New Server button to add a new server

Select an existing server and click the Edit Existing Server
button

In the Server Name text box, specify a name for the new
server. The name can be anything of your choosing.

Select WebDAV from the Connect Using pop-up menu.

For the URL, enter the complete URL to the directory
on the WebDAV server you want to connect to.

This URL includes the protocol, port, and directory (if
not the root directory). For example, http://webdav.mydomain.net/mysite.

Enter your username and password.

This information is for server authentication and is not
related to Dreamweaver. If you are not sure
of your username and password, check with your system administrator
or webmaster.

Click Test to test your connection settings.

Select the Save option if you want Dreamweaver to remember your password each
time you start a new session.

In the Web URL text box enter the URL of your website
(for example, http://www.mysite.com). Dreamweaver uses the Web URL
to create site root-relative links, and to verify links when you
use the link checker.

Click Save to close the Basic screen. Then in the Servers
category, specify whether the server you just added or edited is
a remote server, a testing server, or both.

RDS connections

Use this setting if you connect to your web
server using Remote Development Services (RDS). For this connection
method, your remote server must be on a computer running Adobe® ColdFusion®

Select
Site > Manage Sites.

Click New to set up a new site, or select an existing Dreamweaver site and click Edit.

In the Site Setup dialog box, select the Servers category
and do one of the following:

Click the Add New Server button to add a new server

Select an existing server and click the Edit Existing Server
button

In the Server Name text box, specify a name for the new
server. The name can be anything of your choosing.

Select RDS from the Connect Using pop-up menu.

Click the Settings button and provide the following information
in the Configure RDS Server dialog box:

Enter the name of the host computer where
your web server is installed.

The host name is probably an
IP address or a URL. If you are unsure, ask your administrator.

Enter the port number that you connect to.

Enter your root remote folder as the host directory.

For
example, c:\inetpub\wwwroot\myHostDir\.

Enter your RDS username and password.

Note:

These
options might not appear if you set your username and password in
the ColdFusion Administrator security settings.

Select the Save option if you want Dreamweaver to remember your settings.

Click OK to close the Configure RDS Server dialog box.

In the Web URL text box enter the URL of your website
(for example, http://www.mysite.com). Dreamweaver uses the Web URL
to create site root-relative links, and to verify links when you
use the link checker.

Connect to or disconnect from a
remote folder with FTP access

Troubleshoot the remote folder
setup

The following list provides
information on common problems you may encounter in setting up a
remote folder, and how to resolve them.

There is also an extensive
tech note that specifically provides FTP troubleshooting information
on the Adobe website at www.adobe.com/go/kb405912.

The Dreamweaver FTP implementation might not work properly with certain proxy servers, multilevel firewalls, and other forms of indirect server access. If you encounter problems with FTP access, ask your local system administrator for help.

For a Dreamweaver FTP implementation, you must connect to the remote system’s root folder. Be sure to indicate the remote system’s root folder as the host directory. If you’ve specified the host directory using a single slash (/), you might need to specify a relative path from the directory you are connecting to and the remote root folder. For example, if the remote root folder is a higher level directory, you may need to specify a ../../ for the host directory.

Use underscores in place of spaces, and avoid special characters in file and folder names wherever possible. Colons, slashes, periods, and apostrophes in file or folder names can sometimes cause problems.

If you encounter problems with long filenames, rename them with shorter names. On the Mac OS, filenames cannot be more than 31 characters long.

Many servers use symbolic links (UNIX), shortcuts (Windows), or aliases (Macintosh) to connect a folder on one part of the server’s disk with another folder elsewhere. Such aliases usually have no effect on your ability to connect to the appropriate folder or directory; however, if you can connect to one part of the server but not another, there might be an alias discrepancy.

If you encounter an error message such as “cannot put file,” your remote folder may be out of space. For more detailed information, look at the FTP log.

Note: In general, when you encounter a problem with an FTP transfer, examine the FTP log by selecting Window > Results (Windows) or Site > FTP Log (Macintosh), then clicking the FTP Log tag.

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